A Pure, But Confused Heart
by Kushima Mihamo
Summary: It's DNAngel! Riku knows how she feels, but Daisuke is still confused. Will he discover that his sacred maiden is actually someone else or is it really Riku? Read to find out.
1. Chapter 1

**A Pure, But Confused Heart**

He drew me close and breathed into my ear harshly. The warm air caused my cheeks to become warm with a blush that would not cease to spread across my face. I tried to quiet my heart so he wouldn't hear it, but to no avail. I felt like I was going to faint from the shock, but I knew I wouldn't.

"Miss Riku…"

He said my name so sweetly that I couldn't do anything, but listen to him. I turned my eyes to the side, but all I could see was the tree behind us. _Why are you acting like this, Daisuke…Is something wrong?_

**Author's Note: Earlier that day… (yes I can predict the future…ooo…-waves arms spastically-)**

"Excuse me! Pardon me! Waaah!!! Look out!"

"Ouch!" I looked up to see Daisuke toppled on top of me. "Hey…you need to watch where you're going."

"I'm sorry." He helped me to my feet and then picked up the supplies that he had dropped.

"It's alright. Do you need any help?" I asked nicely.

"No that's okay. I just have trouble with stairs and carrying heavy objects down them. That's all. Now that I'm past them, I think I'll be fine. Thanks though." He smiled and then ran off.

I shook my head. _You klutz._

"Riku!" A voice behind me called my name.

"Huh? Risa?"

"Don't space out! Have you seen Daisuke? He's going to help me find Mr. Dark tonight."

"What!?" My mouth dropped open.

Risa pouted. "Look, have you seen him or not?"

"Yeah…he went the opposite way that you just came. I think he was going to the art room."

"Oh thanks." She smiled and then ran after Daisuke.

_Why is he helping Risa with such a ridiculous fad? He should be studying for our upcoming tests. _ I shook my head and started walking towards the school entrance so I could get my bike and then go home.

As soon as I got outside though, Satoshi was there, standing next to my bike. I glared at him but walked to my bike anyway. He glanced my way, but did nothing more than that. I unlocked the padlock and then unraveled the chain from the bike. As I grabbed it and go onto it, Satoshi put his hand on the handle bar and stared at me.

"What is it, Hiwatari?" He said nothing but continued to stare at me. I puffed out my cheeks and said, "Well do you have something to say, or don't you?"

He simply said, "If you really like Daisuke, you'll stay at school and not let him go to that Museum tonight."

As he walked away I shouted, "Hey! What does that mean!? I asked him if he needed help and he told me no! Besides I need to go home, so I can convince Risa to not go after that creep Dark anymore!"

He ignored me and went back inside the building. _Argh! The nerve of that guy! He thinks he can just tell me that I don't like Daisuke enough! What does he know!? _ I was so furious that I threw my bike down, without locking it back up and followed Satoshi back into school. I stormed off to the art room, where I assumed Daisuke sill was.

I slammed the door open and peered around the room. As my eyes drifted, they fell on Daisuke, who was staring at me in fear. My eyes softened and so did my heart. I smiled and ran over to him. "Sorry. Did I startle you?"

"Just a little." He said honestly.

"What are you working on?"

He blocked it from my view. "N…Nothing!"

I leered at him and asked suspiciously, "Are you making a gift for another girl?"

"No!" He shook his head violently.

"Oh…then a boy?"

Daisuke's eyes nearly popped out and he stammered, "Wh…why would you even ask t…that!?"

I smirked, "So it is for a boy."

He shook his head once again and said, "No. It's for you, Miss Riku." He smiled and covered his painting with a tarp.

"Is it a portrait?"

He held his tongue and closed his eyes and I stuck my face close to his and stuck my tongue out as he opened his eyes. "I gotta go! Sorry Miss Riku!" I grabbed the back of his shirt collar and sighed. He stopped struggling and looked at me with a worried expression. "Is something wrong, Miss Riku?"

I shook my head. "You shouldn't encourage Risa's behavior."

He scratched his head and asked, "What do you mean?"

"She told me that you are going to help her find that pervert, Dark, later."

"She did?" Daisuke asked nervously.

"Yeah…so…maybe we could do something instead." I suggested. _Ah! Why am I blushing!?_

"We!? You mean…you and me?"

"Yeah you dope!" I said angrily and then calmed down. "So…what do you say?"

"Well…I already told Miss Harada I would help her…"

"Don't worry. She wouldn't blame you if you didn't show up."

"Yeah she would. I really think I should help Miss Harada…"

"Please, Daisuke…we can go see a movie or…"

"Well…I don't want to let you down either…" I didn't know what to say at that point. But Daisuke did. He couldn't look me in the face, because he was blushing so hard. "Why don't we go to the park near the Museum? That way I can help you both out?"

"I don't want to be a nuisance…"

"Don't worry, Miss Riku. I really want to spend time with you." He smiled and then went on, "I'll see you there at six, is that alright?"

I smiled happily back, "Yeah that's fine. I'll see you then." I ran out of the room and waved good-bye to Daisuke. _I can't wait until tonight. I know something good is going to happen…still though…I wonder why Satoshi wanted me to try to get him…not to go…oh well…if this works out I should thank him._


	2. Chapter 2

**The Right Outfit**

When I arrived home later that day, I noticed that Risa was wearing a wavy black dress and shiny black high heels. I rolled my eyes and ignored her, since I knew she was preparing herself for yet another attempt at a date with Dark. I climbed the stairs to our room and closed the door. I turned around and leaned against the door for a minute and then smiled and clung my bag to my chest. I jumped at my bed and plopped onto it. I kicked off my shoes and stared at the ceiling, smiling with delight.

I heard a knocking on my door which brought me out of my daydream. "Riku…are you okay? I'm going out soon, so I hope you're okay on your own." I smirked and quickly changed into a light blue skirt with a red-pink sweater. "Riku…are you in there? Hello?"

I opened the door and smiled at her. "You're going out too? So am I."

"Well…I told you I was going with Daisuke to find Mr. Dark."

"Yeah…and don't you think that outfit is a bit much, Risa?"

She looked down and shrugged, "No…nothing is too outrageous for Mr. Dark."

"But…you're not going on a date with him. You're stalking him, with the help of Daisuke."

"Yeah…maybe I'll save this for later. Thanks Riku." She closed the door and ran to the closet to pick out a different outfit.

I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror at myself and smiled. _I hope tonight goes well...it would be even better if Dark wasn't there…although then I'd have to comfort Risa…_

Risa came running into the bathroom with a black skirt, white blouse, and black sweater on and did a little spin. "Is this better?"

I smiled, "Much."

"So where are you going tonight?"

"Umm…just to the park near the museum that you're going to."

"Oh really…are you meeting someone there?" She looked down at my outfit and then back up to the blush on my face and winked, "A boy?"

I looked down, "No of course not! Why would I be meeting a boy in the park!?"

Risa giggled. "Well whoever it is, I'll meet them soon enough."

"What!?"

"I'm not going to leave my sister in the park with a complete stranger. That would be irresponsible of me."

"Niwa's not a stranger, Risa!" I clasped my mouth shut and then screamed, "Ah! I mean…never mind."

I ran downstairs and out the door, Risa hot on my trail. "You're meeting Niwa too!?" Risa sounded so worried and I knew she was panicking about her meeting with Dark.

I stopped and turned to her. "Yes I am…don't blame Niwa though…I put him up to it. We're doing a project on the stars and its due soon."

"Oh…so Daisuke's just helping you too, right?"

I nodded and she grabbed my hand and said, "Okay then, let's get moving. We don't want to keep our men waiting."


	3. Chapter 3

**The Dark Date**

As we walked to the park, Risa and I talked and laughed a few times. We'd never been so close as we were right then and there. As long as we both liked a guy, we were okay. But when it was only one of us…we drifted apart. Men…they tear apart relationships but they can also mend them.

"Riku…Riku!"

I shook my head. "Yeah?"

"We're there…but Daisuke's not here. Do you want to check the park? I'm too tired to walk any further, so I'll wait here."

I smiled, "Okay Risa. Just wait here, ok?"

"Okay." She smiled back.

I ran off to the park and my heart pounded faster the more I ran. It might have been from the running or it might have been from…

"Daisuke!" I waved to him.

"Hi Miss Riku."

I blushed immensely when I saw him and I tried to hide it as best as I could. "I hope I'm not too late."

"No don't worry. I just got here too."

_You dope. I know you've been waiting for a while. You were sitting down when I approached. You're such a bad liar._

"So…it will be a while before the stars come out…so I was wondering if I could help Risa first and then come back to you…would that be okay?"

I was utterly shocked at what he was saying but shrugged it off and said, "Fine, but I'm not waiting here all night just to embarrass myself."

"Right…I'll be back around seven. See you then!" He said and ran off towards Risa.

I sighed and sat on the bench. "Knowing you…you'll be longer than an hour…and to think…I was actually excited to see you…I should've known better…"

I stood up to go home, but decided that I should wait for Daisuke. _If I didn't love you so much, I'd leave here in a heartbeat. _I blushed at the word 'love.' Daisuke and I had both confessed how we felt about one another, but nothing really changed between us. Sure…we were both seeing each other a bit more and there were more phone calls than there used to be…but there was no real romance between us.

I sat back down on the bench and sighed heavily, placing my head in my hands and peering down at the ground. I thought of nothing but Daisuke and the complications a relationship, a real romantic one that is, would cause for us, and noticed a pair of shoes in front of me. I looked up to see Takeshi.

"I thought it was you Harada. What are you doing here? Did you get dumped?"

I glared at him and stuck out my tongue, "No, you jerk!"

"Well I'm going to see what's going on at the museum. It seems that Dark just appeared flying over the place. Do you want to come?"

"No thanks. I'm…waiting for someone."

"Suit yourself." He ran off and a loud crashing sound came from behind me.

I looked to where the sound had come from and saw the phantom thief himself. I glared at him as he stood up and walked toward me. "Hey…what's Risa's older sister doing here?" I continued glaring at him and said nothing. I turned around and glanced at the clock. "Oh the cold shoulder. I see how it is. How come you're the only girl that doesn't like me? I bet you secretly do." He winked.

I looked over my shoulder at him and yelled, "Who could ever love a perverted thief like you!?"

"Sheesh. You may be cute, but you're not nice at all. You're so different from Risa. Are you sure you're twins?"

"Twins aren't always the same! After all, Risa and I look nothing alike!" I turned my head back around and whispered under my breath, "Daisuke…where are you?"

Tears uncontrollably fell down my face and as I checked to see if Dark was still there I noticed he had left and all that remained in his place, was a black feather. I pulled my legs up and cried into my lap. _I guess Daisuke forgot. If he had just stayed with me, we could've caught that creep together and then locked him up._

I was too weak to move from where I was, so stayed still, crying less and less as more time passed. I didn't want anyone to see my silent tears of pain. Especially not Risa. She would only worry herself to exhaustion.

An hour passed and the clock read eight o' clock. I shook my head and finally got to my feet. I kicked a rock in my way and it landed in a nearby bush.

"Ouch!" A voice sounded from where I kicked the rock.

"Who's there!?" I stood in a fighting pose.

Daisuke came out, flowers and telescope in hand. "I'm sorry I'm so late. Can you forgive me, Miss Riku?"

I slightly smiled, "Just…don't let it happen again."

He smiled, "Alright."

"What took you so long anyway? It's been two hours."

"I walked Risa home and then I had to go home to get my telescope."

"Oh…well…thanks for taking care of my sister." I smiled.

He set up the telescope and asked, "Can you wait here for a minute, Miss Riku…there's something I need to do first."

"What is it now!?" He didn't answer and disappeared into the bush again. I looked through the telescope at the planets and stars and was amazed at how close they seemed. "Amazing!"

I heard the bushes shuffles and knew Daisuke must back and I remarked, "Daisuke, this is amazing! The planets seems so close…like you can just reach out and touch them."

**Author's Note: Warning! Repetition alert! (It's just the few sentences from Chapter 1, since that was from the present, which it now is. XD)**

He drew me close and breathed into my ear harshly. The warm air caused my cheeks to become warm with a blush that would not cease to spread across my face. I tried to quiet my heart so he wouldn't hear it, but to no avail. I felt like I was going to faint from the shock, but I knew I wouldn't.

"Miss Riku…"

He said my name so sweetly that I couldn't do anything, but listen to him. I turned my eyes to the side, but all I could see was the tree behind us. _Why are you acting like this, Daisuke…Is something wrong?_

"Please…don't ever leave me…"

"Daisuke…what do you mean…leave you…?" He squeezed me tightly once and then vanished…as if he was never there to begin with. All that was in his place was a black feather. "Dark? What does this mean? That Daisuke is…Dark?"

My vision went dark and everything went black. I couldn't see anything, but I could move and was still standing. I felt around for something that I could use for guidance, but found nothing and soon fell into an even darker ditch of pitch black darkness. I couldn't move now…nor could I sense anything,

I awoke with a jolt and rubbed my head. "Was it all a dream!? Where's Daisuke!?"


	4. Chapter 4

**A Monumental Discovery**

Risa ran to me and gasped, "Riku! Are you alright?"

I looked around and noticed that I had somehow ended up in my room. I stared at Risa and asked worridely again, "Where's Daisuke!?"

She shook her head. "No one's seen him since last night. Takeshi's father is out looking for him though." I got out of bed and stood up. Risa ran in front of me and outstretched her arms, preventing me from getting through. "You're not well enough yet!"

I pushed her aside and said, "I'm fine."

She watched me leave and saw that I had a worried look across my face. But I was determined to find Daisuke, even if it killed me. I loved him and would find him no matter what. I left the house and went to look at the spot where I had last seen him. I walked rapidly to the park near the museum and as I approached I saw Satoshi looking around. I bent down behind a bush and watched him for some time before he left the area. I stood up and walked to where he was standing and looked up and down. I even looked in every bush for Daisuke.

"Where are you?"

"Daisuke is no longer here." A voice sounded from behind me.

I turned to see Satoshi. "Hiwatari! Do you know where Daisuke is?"

Satoshi looked down and pushed his glasses back up and replied, "I have an idea...yes."

I walked up to him and shouted in his face, "Where!? Tell me, Hiwatari!"

He stared at me and responded, "Follow me, Harada...but be warned you may have to give up in order to save Daisuke."

"I would give my life for him! Now take me to him already!"

He shrugged and motioned me to follow him. I glared at him, but reluctantly followed. He led me into the museum and took me all the way to the storage closet.

I raised an eyebrow and asked, "He's in here?"

Satoshi asked, "Do you remember that Dark sent a note in last night saying that he would steal the 'Jade Horse' last night?"

I shrugged, "I don't pay attention to Dark's actions. And this is about Daisuke!"

He nodded and went on, "Let me explain. That artifact had a strong curse on it. It sends whoever touches it, into oblivion."

"What does any of this have to do with Daisuke!? I thought you had an idea where he was!"

"I'm trying to explain, but you won't let me."

I grew irritated. "Forget it. I should've known you were only interested in Dark. I need to find Daisuke!"

He grabbed me and covered my mouth and brought me down next to him behind some large crates. _Who does he think he is? _

A security guard entered the room and I understood then that he was just pulling us out of the way of being seen. He released me and motioned for me to follow him again. I did so and he led me to a large painting of grassy fields and a few tall trees scattered about here and there. I walked up to and touched the canvas.

"Is this acrylic?" As I touched the painting, my finger phased through it. "What the-?"

Satoshi shrugged and smiled smugly. I gasped and retracted my finger and asked, "Now what, Hiwatari?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Inside Oblivion**

"Hiwatari?"

As I looked around at him, he forced me into the painting and I screamed as I fell into darkness. I stood up and walked around, but I couldn't see anything. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I hit whateveror whoever it was that grabbed me.

"Ow. That hurt."

I identified the voice as Satoshi. "I'm sorry. I can't see a thing inside this place. You'd think that there would be light in a grassy field painting."

Satoshi grabbed a crystal from his pocket and it started to shine as he brought it out into the darkness. I stared at it in wonder. He grabbed my wrist, "I'll lead you in here. We're not quite there yet."

"What do you mean? Isn't Daisuke here?"

"If he was here, we would've bumped into him by now. He's deeper in this place."

My heart seemed to recede into the depths of my chest, where not even the brightest light would reach it. _Daisuke...where are you?_

"Wait here."

"What?"

As Satoshi let go of my wrist, he disappeared and I began to panic. I looked around and felt for anything hard to support me, but I found nothing. I turned completely around and fell backwards when I looked up to see that Satoshi had caught me. "What are you doing?"

I stood up and faced him. "Don't disappear on me! I'm in some weird dream world where nothing is familiar!"

Satoshi smirked, "You're not scared are you?"

I yelled, "Of course I am! I can't see and I..." I was interuppted as Satoshi grabbed me and led me through a wall to a grass covered field. "Is this...?"

He nodded, "Yes. We are inside the painting, Harada."

I glared at him. "I don't like that tone, Hiwatari. I'm not an idiot afterall. I figured out that much." He chuckled. "What? I'm being serious!"

He shook his head and said, "If you look hard, you'll find him. I have to go back and help Takeshi."

"Huh? With what?"

"I have to give them some fake facts. I have a reputation to keep, you know?"

"You can't just leave me here!"

He ignored me and left in the way that we had come in. I tried to follow him, but I couldn't get through. _What? Why can't I get through?_

From the other side of the wall, Satoshi said, "You can't come back without Daisuke."

I pounded on the doors, "Hiwatari, get back here! Hiwatari!"

I gave up when I didn't hear a reply and walked around, looking behind the pastel colored trees, and delicately painted bushes. I sighed and sat down under the shadeless tree. The faux sun may have lighted the whole area, but it gave off no heat or warmth. I looked up at the sky for weirdly shaped clouds, but in this painting there weren't even fluffy looking clouds. I glared out at nothing and stood up to look around some more. As I did I saw that the painting was not limited to this scene. I walked further on and discovered a forest.

"What's this doing in here? I didn't see it in the painting?" I paused and paced for a bit and then decided to go in, in hopes of finding Daisuke. "I'm coming, Daisuke! Just wait for me!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Connected Worlds**

As I walked deeper into the painting I noticed an assortment of different colors surround me. I was in awe as different shades of purples and blues passed me and transformed into greens and yellows and then into oranges and pinks. The last color to appear was a series of dark reds. It frightened me and yet amazed me. A familiar shade of red appeared then vanished before my eyes leaving nothing but darkness.

"Everything must return to its original state." A voice sounded from the depths of the endless darkness.

"Who...who's t-there?" I stammered.

"Everything came from the color black and everything must return to it."

"Hiwatari, if that's you this isn't funny!"

"No!" A familiar voice echoed throughout.

"D…Daisuke!" I looked around, hoping to spot some trace of him. "Daisuke!" I yelled again, hoping to get some kind of answer.

"He can't hear you." I swung my fist back into Dark's face.

"…"

He glared, "Aren't you going to apologize?"

I stared back, "For what? Defending myself?"

He sighed and shook his head and grabbed my wrist. "Just follow me. We'll get things done faster that way."

I pulled my wrist free from him and demanded, "What do you mean! Do you know where Daisuke is?" Only silence answered my question. A concerned look crossed his face as he looked away. I tilted my head to the side and sighed. "I take that as a no then."

I heard him sigh and say under his breath, "I'll find you Daisuke. Just hang in there."

_Hmm… _I thought and grasped onto his arm. "How do you know Daisuke?"

Dark turned his head around slowly, "Well…um…you see…" He straightened himself out and went on, "I don't, but he's in this painting that I was trying to steal and that kind of slows down my job, you see?"

I stared at him suspiciously, "I suppose that makes sense. But why wouldn't you just steal the painting with him in it?"

"Because then I would be a kidnapper as well as an art thief. I'd rather just be known for one job thank you."

"Job? Don't you mean criminal act?"

Dark was becoming irritated, "Call it what you will. Let's just find him so we can all get out of here." He picked me up and swung me over his shoulder.

"Hey-!"

"This will be quicker. Trust me." He stuck his index and middle finger to his lips and whistled loudly. Suddenly a shadow appeared and transformed into a set of black wings on his back. "And…we have lift off!"

He shot off towards what seemed to be endless darkness, but turned into red dots that seemed to transfigure into demonic shapes and beings. I grabbed tightly onto Dark's shirt and he flew a bit faster so we could get through that awful place. I looked around and noticed a new setting appear before me. A spiral of colors appeared once again only to land us in world of floating islands and lost ships. I don't mean space ships either. I mean the ships that set sail on the ocean.

"What is this place?"

"It's what all of these places have been…paintings…"

"What?"

"All of these landscapes are different paintings that we are passing through."

"But how are they connected to that one that we entered into?"

"These were all made by the same artist. So they are all connected by the spirit and love that he put into his work."

I didn't quite understand it all. It all seemed so unrealistic to me. Too magical and surrealistic to even be something that existed in the real world. Paintings being portals? Yeah right. Impossible. Or so I thought.

Dark landed on a small floating land mass. "Why have we stopped?"

"I need to get something here. Wait here."

"It's not like I can go anywhere else." I yelled out after him as he flew towards a huge ship with tattered sails and rotted boards. A huge hole was in its port side, but the name of the ship was still visible. It was called _The Lantern. _

I looked around as I waited for Dark to return. I saw clouds that again were not as fluffy or at light looking as they are in the real world. I also saw half of a ship float by. It was the only thing besides the floating islands that seemed real. I saw down and put my head between my legs. I hoped Dark would hurry up so we could save Daisuke.

Suddenly I felt arms around my waist and realized I was being lifted up. "Dark-?" I looked up and screamed. I flailed about and kicked the ghoulish creature in the face. It has six eyes on one side of it's face and had a beak like feature that seemed to be oozing with something. I tried to kick it again but couldn't.

"Dark!" I screamed.

It then released me where there was no islands or ships. I screamed as I fell and flapped my arms wildly about hoping that would slow me down. "Dark!" I screamed again.

"Riku!"

I saw Daisuke's face appear and I reached my hands out to grasp him, but then everything went black. I felt like someone had caught me though.

"Gotcha." Was the last thing I heard before I completely blacked out.


	7. Chapter 7

**Getting to Know Him**

"Daisuke!" I sat up quickly and looked around. "I'm…still alive?" I looked at my arms and saw not cuts or abrasions. I saw a campfire not too far away from me. I spread my hands out to it to help me warm up. A bright golden object popped down in front of me and swung back and forth.

"You really can be a pain, you know that?" I looked up to see Dark with a smug look on his face.

I looked back to the golden object and saw that it was a small staff that had a bright blue orb on top of it. "Is that what you had to get?"

Dark sat down next to me, "Yep. This should help us find Daisuke. But I can only use it once."

"What will happen once you use it?"

"It will lead us to what we desire and then go back to the ship I found it in."

"Isn't that why you were trying to steal this painting though?"

"No. It's safest inside the painting. Who knows how it would react in the real world."

"Sounds like your job is more complicated than I thought."

"Of course it is. I have to avoid those detectives and make a great entrance on the scene, but not big enough where I get caught."

"And you have to leave notes too."

"Uh…right." He rubbed the back of his head.

"So…where are we now? Another painting?"

He sat in silence and put the staff down. "We're in 'the' painting."

"What do you mean 'the'?"

"The one that Daisuke is in."

"Huh? But how'd we get here? And how do you know Daisuke is here?"

"You should feel it too, Riku."

"Feel it?"

"Place your hand on your heart. If you truly love him…you should be able to feel his presence."

I did what he said, but then asked "If we can feel him then why do we need the staff?"

"Because feeling alone won't tell us where he is in this giant zone."

"It's a zone of nothing but more darkness. If we don't find Daisuke here…he could end up trapped inside a sculpture or inside another painting."

"We can't let that happen!"

"We won't."

"Then why are we just sitting here!"

"Because…you haven't felt Daisuke yet, have you?"

"…" I closed my eyes.

"If you don't feel him I'll have to go on without you. The staff will let me know when I hand it to you."

_Tfft. Tests in the middle of a search and find? What the heck? Oh well. If it will help me find Daisuke then it's work it. _I thought to myself as I listened for whatever it was I was supposed to hear or discover. Dark slid the staff into my other hand and as I opened my eyes it glowed a brilliant blue color.

"What does this mean, Dark?"

"It means we're ready to find Daisuke." He pulled me up, onto his back and followed the line of blue light.

"So this light will lead us to him?"

"It should. If that was the desire you had in mind when you held it."

"And why couldn't you do that?"

"Because I had to make a fire somehow. Otherwise we would have been overcome by the demonic energy and darkness within this zone."

"So that's how you made the fire."

He nodded. "You were our last shot. So let's hope this works."

We flew on and I knew Dark must have been getting tired or at least his wings must have been. It seemed like hours had passed by. "um…Dark?"

He looked back at me, "Hm?"

"How long will the blue light stay glowing?"

"I'm not sure. But as long as it does, we're safe. Nothing around here likes the light."

"I see…" I was silent for a bit more and then asked, "What if Daisuke has already moved somewhere else?"

"Then we'll follow him there."

"But we won't have a staff to find him."

"We have perseverance. That's all we need."

I began to cry a little, but tried to hold it back. Dark seemed to ignore me, because he knew I didn't want him to see me cry. He handed me a handkerchief with the initials RH on them. "Huh? Is this Risa's?"

"Heh…yeah. She wanted me to have it. So I would always think of her…that's what she said anyway." I slapped the back of his head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"I don't like you leading on my sister you pervert."

He shook his head, "Oh here we go again."

"You're too old for her! And I don't think you plan to stay around long, do you!"

He stopped flying and glared at me, "What do you mean!"

"You always seem to vanish and not return for years. And on top of that…you don't seem to age."

"Heh…" He continued flying again and said nothing but, "Listen…Risa knows I can't stay here forever…"

"She does?"

He nodded, "Yes…but she's also the only girl who doesn't think I'm a monster."

"Monster?"

"Yeah…you think I'm one."

"No…I think you're a pervert. There's a big difference."

He chuckled. "Really? So would you slap a monster?"

I laughed, "No, but I would kick its butt if it tried to kill me."

The darkness was filled with our laughter and as the light led on, our laughter died down and silence filled the place once again. And it stayed that way quite a bit. I think it was because both Dark and I were intensely thinking about the conversation we had just had. Me about him thinking he was a monster and him about…well something. Maybe the same thing.

But he broke the silence and I found out what he was really thinking about. "Riku…"

"Yeah?"

"I don't want to alarm you, but…if Daisuke is in a sculpture…there will be no way to get him out. He'll be trapped in there…"

"Forever!"

"…" Dark said nothing and it made me angry, sad, and concerned. What if Daisuke really was inside a sculpture? Would I never see him again! Would I never be able to hear his voice again!

_Miss Riku! _I heard his voice echoe in the back of mind from all of our memories together. I had to see him again! I had to hear him again! "Daisuke!"


End file.
